Just before the back-to-school rush, the University of Colorado's smoking ban officially went into effect Monday.

There are still 25 designated smoking areas scattered throughout the campus. But, come December, campus officials will decide whether they should start phasing out the designated smoking zones, too, said Malinda Miller-Huey, a campus spokeswoman.

University officials will not issue tickets to those caught smoking on campus, but students could be referred to the Office of Student Conduct. Employees could be referred to their supervisors, Miller-Huey said. Visitors will be required to leave the campus if they don't abide by the rules when informed.

Classes for the fall semester at CU begin Aug. 26, and students are moving into the dorms this week.

In February, Chancellor Phil DiStefano signed the campus smoking ban, making CU-Boulder the second school in the Pac-12 to go smoke-free. Leading the Pac-12 was the University of Oregon. More than 1,100 college campuses throughout the country have bans on smoking.

Jessica Kaminsky, a Ph.D. student studying civil engineering, said she supports the ban. In the past, she said, she's noticed clusters of smokers congregating by building entrances.

"You'd get a blast of smoke when you'd walk over by the doors," she said.

Jonathan Diels, 25, who was passing through the campus Monday afternoon, favors the ban and said smokers need to consider the rights of others who don't want to breathe in second-hand smoke.

The ban faced some opposition, though.

The CU Student Government last year struck down a resolution that supported an all-out tobacco ban. Students critical of the smoking ban raised concerns that CU was infringing on their rights and that students would be unsafe if they walked off campus to smoke cigarettes late at night. Some even said smoking outside of buildings helped them meet new friends.

Since the ban was signed, Facilities Management has uprooted more than 100 smoking urns on the campus. The designated smoking zones -- which aren't in main throughways -- still have the urns, which will be marked with stickers.

As part of an educational phase, CU has put up no-smoking signs and linked smokers who want to quit with resources to help. The Faculty and Staff Assistance Program has hosted a series of smoking cessation workshops, support groups and individual counseling sessions.

A Community Health survey in 2011 found that 60 percent of CU students said they had never smoked a cigarette. About 20 percent of students said they had smoked in the last month, and 6.5 percent of students said they smoked daily, according to the results.

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